Chapter 1451: External Incarnation

On Qinglian Peak, within a secret chamber on Qinglian Island in the Wulong Sea.

Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, his eyes slightly closed. His skin was covered in a foul-smelling gray residue, with veins bulging and blood vessels faintly visible beneath the surface.

After a moment, Wang Changsheng opened his eyes. He stood up and stretched his limbs, clearly feeling his body brimming with strength; his physical power had significantly increased.

During his trip to the Feixian Ruins, Ye Haitang obtained five Dragon Scale Fruits. As the only body cultivator in the Wang family, Wang Changsheng consumed all five. This significantly boosted his strength and further enhanced his physical body.

As a dual cultivator of both magic and body, he required far more cultivation resources than other cultivators of the same rank. Wang Changsheng had refined over a thousand jin of fourth-tier spiritual water and consumed numerous body-tempering spiritual fruits and elixirs. In terms of physical strength alone, he was no weaker than an ordinary fourth-tier demonic beast. Once he advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, his physical body would be further strengthened, and his physical power would increase accordingly.

A large expanse of blue light emanated from Wang Changsheng's body. Countless blue water vapors materialized out of thin air, forming a blue water curtain that washed away the impurities from his skin.

As his cultivation improved, Wang Changsheng's mastery of water-attribute spells became even more proficient.

With a muffled thud, the stone wall parted, revealing a chamber over ten zhang wide. A handsome, tall young man in a golden robe emerged, his aura clearly indicating he was a Core Formation cultivator.

This golden-robed youth was Wang Changsheng's external avatar, Wang Xin. With the Profound Womb Pearl in hand, the process of refining the avatar had been smooth.

A Nascent Soul was incorporated into the external avatar during its refinement, granting it Core Formation stage cultivation upon creation. It would need to cultivate slowly to reach the Nascent Soul stage, but an external avatar advancing to the Nascent Soul stage would not attract lightning tribulations or face inner demons. As long as it cultivated steadily, it was only a matter of time before the external avatar reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Wang Changsheng instructed the external avatar to cultivate Buddhist techniques, which were obtained from Monk Wangchen. He possessed six Purity Bamboos; only a small portion was needed for Wang Ruyan to refine magical treasures, leaving plenty available for the external avatar.

The external avatar was controlled by a split consciousness of Wang Changsheng, sharing a telepathic connection with his main body.

Wang Changsheng closed his eyes, carefully examining the state of his external avatar. He could clearly feel a peaceful Buddhist aura emanating from its entire body, giving off a sense of warmth and approachability. It had taken them a great deal of effort to slay Monk Wangchen back then. Once the external avatar cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, it would undoubtedly play a significant role.

The external avatar had a severe flaw: it could not be too far from Wang Changsheng, or it would lose its ability to move. This was merely an ordinary external avatar. According to Ye Haitang's recollection, there were ten-thousand-year spiritual medicines capable of transforming into human form in the Feixian Ruins. If he could obtain such a spiritual medicine, the external avatar refined from it would be even better. An external avatar refined from a ten-thousand-year spiritual medicine would likely possess Nascent Soul stage cultivation upon creation.

Wang Changsheng instructed the external avatar to return to the secret chamber for cultivation. He then went to the insect-rearing chamber, where hundreds of thousands of Gold-Devouring Ants swarmed throughout the room. Scattered on the floor were remnants of puppets and large quantities of metal ore.

In the center of the insect-rearing chamber was the enormous Gold-Devouring Ant Queen, ten times the size of an ordinary Gold-Devouring Ant. It was golden all over, with faint silver patterns on its wings. Despite devouring vast amounts of artifact-refining materials, the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen remained at the peak of the third tier. None of the spiritual beasts or insects personally reared by Wang Changsheng had advanced to the fourth tier. The Sea-Suppressing Ape, however, had reached the fourth tier, but it was given to him by the Grand Elder.

Wang Changsheng flipped his hand, revealing a palm-sized blue-green porcelain bottle. He opened it and poured some light blue-green liquid onto a piece of blue-green ore. The previously drowsy Gold-Devouring Ant Queen immediately awoke, furiously gnawing at the ore. The other Gold-Devouring Ants also became agitated.

This porcelain bottle came from an alien race, and its contents were unknown. The Gold-Devouring Ants particularly liked it, but the Double-Eyed Rat, Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada, and Kylin Tortoise showed no interest. The alien race possessed many items that Wang Changsheng mostly couldn't identify. He had to slowly examine them and confirm they were safe before using them. Wang Changsheng had forcibly fed the blue-green liquid to spiritual fish, which instantly died. Only the Gold-Devouring Ants showed interest in it.

Besides the Ant Queen, over a hundred other Gold-Devouring Ants also had silver patterns on their wings, and these ants were noticeably larger. There were now over a hundred third-tier Gold-Devouring Ants and tens of thousands of second-tier ones. They had devoured vast quantities of artifact-refining materials, rendering them impervious to blades and spears, and difficult to harm with water or fire.

Wang Changsheng sprinkled some blue-green liquid onto more than a dozen pieces of ore. The Gold-Devouring Ants with silver patterns on their wings rushed forward first, furiously gnawing at the ore. Any other Gold-Devouring Ants attempting to feed would be attacked by them. After consuming the blue-green liquid, they became lethargic, lying motionless on the ground. Wang Changsheng collected them and moved them to another insect-rearing chamber. He couldn't figure out what the blue-green liquid was, but one thing was certain: it was beneficial to them. Perhaps the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen could use it to advance to the fourth tier.

After settling the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen, Wang Changsheng went to another secret chamber. Inside, there was a Spiritual Eye Spring, and the Double-Eyed Rat was nestled within it. On the ground lay a massive demonic beast carcass, appearing to be the corpse of a fish demon. The Double-Eyed Rat leaped out of the Spiritual Eye Spring, quickly scurried onto Wang Changsheng's shoulder, and incessantly chirped.

"You rascal, you've eaten so many good things, yet you still haven't advanced to the fourth tier?" Wang Changsheng chuckled, lightly scolding it. After a slight hesitation, he took out a Sky Beast Pill and fed it to the Double-Eyed Rat.

Currently, only the Double-Eyed Rat and the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen were suitable for attempting to reach the fourth tier; the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada's advancement speed was relatively slow. After consuming the Sky Beast Pill, the Double-Eyed Rat became drowsy and began to fall from Wang Changsheng's shoulder. Wang Changsheng swiftly caught it. This was its second time taking a Sky Beast Pill. Previously, it had consumed a fourth-tier earth-attribute demonic core. Its chances of advancing to the fourth tier this time should be relatively high, as it had, after all, consumed many spiritual elixirs and miraculous medicines, no less than the Gold-Devouring Ant Queen.

After settling the Double-Eyed Rat, Wang Changsheng sat down cross-legged, intending to refine a magical treasure. Just then, an urgent sharp whistle emanated from his pocket. He quickly pulled out a Dharma plate inscribed with a blue lotus, cast a hand seal, and Wang Mengfen's hurried voice suddenly sounded: "Old Ancestor, Senior Dai from the Myriad Swords Sect is here. He says he has an extremely urgent matter and wishes to speak with you in person."

"An extremely urgent matter?" Wang Changsheng was slightly startled. Had the Zhenhai Sect ruins been exposed? Or had Zhou Sihong opened the spatial passage?

"Please let him in! Take him to the council hall, I'll be right there."

"Yes, Old Ancestor."

Upon arriving at the council hall, Wang Changsheng quickly met Dai Ren. Dai Ren's expression was solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Wang, Zhou Sihong's whereabouts have been found."